Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Nash
R ocky and I walked up from the beach, both of us soaked and salty. “Stay,” I told him. He sat and looked very insulted as he looked up at me. I walked inside to get a towel, and the dog hopped up enthusiastically for a brisk rubbing. I lifted the towel, and he gave himself a major shake.
Ronnie showed up a few minutes later. I wasn’t expecting her, but she was the one bandmate I was always glad to see. “I was just at Whisper Cove Café having a late lunch. That place makes awesome sweet potato fries.” She patted her stomach. “Rocky, my man, what are you up to?” She petted him and then lifted her hand. “Didn’t know he was wet.”
“We just came up from the beach.”
Ronnie walked over to the window and looked out. “Oh wow, this is a nice view. Way better than the one we’ve got. Today, the man across the street decided to go shirtless while he washed his car, and he’s not exactly a cover model, if you know what I mean. I had to close the curtains just so I could eat my breakfast.” Ronnie plopped down on the couch next to the guitar. I instantly tensed when I realized I hadn’t cleared away my song notes. “What’s this?” She picked up the papers.
“Just a song I’ve been messing with. Something to do when I’m bored.” The tension in my body released when she tossed the papers aside.
“Speaking of songs—if you really need the money, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to sell them. Not sure we’d get much for them though. Our numbers haven’t been great. I think our fans can sense that things are cooling down in the band. And honestly, I haven’t been posting nearly as much social media for that same reason—things haven’t been great between us.”
“Want a cold soda?” I asked as I headed to the refrigerator.
“Nah, I just ate a ridiculous amount of food. No room left.” She leaned forward and rested her arms on her thighs. “Have you given any more thought to a loan? Like I said, I could get my financial guy to write something up. Nothing too complicated.”
I returned with my soda. I hadn’t changed yet, so I didn’t sit. “I’m not sure I could swing another payment, Ronnie. It’s really cool of you to offer, but I’d end up getting underwater, and I don’t want it to bust up our friendship.”
“Yeah, I guess that sometimes happens when money is loaned. But what are you going to do about your mom’s operation?”
“Not sure. What time are we getting to the bar tonight?”
“Seven. And Bosco is back in a terrible mood. I think ending this band might just be the thing we all need to get our lives restarted. We’re growing stale and grumpy, and like I said, I think the fans sense it. Plus, we haven’t put out an original in a long time. That’s never good for business.” She glanced over at the papers again. “Is this anything? I was thinking if we put out one more song before we broke up, we could at least get downloads on our site moving again.”
I shook my head. “Like I said, just something I’ve been doing when I’m bored.” The song I’d written was more or less just for me. I hadn’t written it for the band, but I didn’t need to tell Ronnie that.
“Well, I’m going to head back to the house. I was up way too late binge-watching some stupid thriller that took such a drastic, implausible turn I felt cheated by the ending. Now I need a nap, so I can pound drums tonight.” Ronnie stood up. She looked at me. “I’m going to miss it though.”
I nodded. “Yeah, me too.” I walked her to the door. I had an hour to eat, shower and get ready for the highlight of my day, my week, my year—a dog walk with Layla.
M an, I had it bad for the woman. Her gentle knock sent my heart racing. Rocky was at the door barking like crazy. He had it bad, too. Layla smiled and hugged me before petting Rocky. I considered it a small victory. She swept inside like sunshine. Those words danced through my head. They were lyrics in my new song, and they fit perfectly.
“What a day. We sold out of everything. There were only crumbs left on all the trays. I did, however, hide one of these before they were all gone.” She held out her hand with a fudge-topped brownie wrapped in a napkin. “You have not lived until you’ve eaten one of Isla’s brownies.”
“Oh, wow, this looks amazing. And I’ve got milk in the fridge.”
“Let’s walk first since Rocky is obviously waiting. That way you can savor each bite.” We looked over at the leash hook. Rocky sat below it and stared up as if he thought he could move it with his mind.
“I guess he’s ready to go.” I put down the brownie, reluctantly, and clipped on Rocky’s leash. “Boy, the sacrifices I make for you, buddy.”
“Don’t forget,” Layla said as she took control of the leash. “He brought the two of us together.”
“Nope, I won’t ever forget that.” I took her hand before we reached the road. She gazed at me with those cocoa brown eyes, and I felt the shadows in my life vanish . I’d spent so many of the last hours working and singing the song, the lyrics were on repeat in my head. I’d decided to record myself singing the song just to see how it sounded. If it wasn’t good enough, then I’d push it back into oblivion never to be heard by human ears—only dog ears. “I’m glad you’re here, Layla.”
“Me, too.”
We headed to the road, and Rocky moved right into his sniffing routine of the shrubs and grass lining the road.
“Are you coming to the show tonight?” I asked.
“Emily came into the bakery this morning to buy a pecan bun and secure an answer to that question. It’s either me or Kelly, the professional complainer. I didn’t tell her ‘yes’ right away because—well—it’s not too bad pretending this isn’t happening when I’m not with her. I can easily talk in circles around the subject if we’re just having a text chat or phone call. Face-to-face is harder, but standing in the same room with the two of you—I’m not sure I can manage it.”
“I get that. Maybe it’s time to tell her,” I suggested.
“I thought I’d wait and see if this …” Her words trailed off.
“If this is anything?” I asked. Rocky had stopped, so I turned toward her. “I know, for me, I’m all in, Layla. I can’t sleep or eat or breathe without thinking about you.”
Her pink lips turned up at the sides. “Remember the parade of yawns last night? I could hardly keep my eyes open, but once my head hit the pillow, my eyes shot open, and all I could think about was—was this—us. I guess what I’m trying to say is—I’m all in, too. I just wish there weren’t so many jagged edges to smooth out first.”
“Jagged edges? You mean Emily.” Rocky was the tour guide, and he’d decided to move on. We trailed behind him.
“She’s one of them, but there’s another one, one that might be even more jagged-y than my best friend’s obsession with you.”
“What’s that?”
“You’re only here until October. Then what? Am I supposed to turn off my feelings and wave at you as you drive off in your truck … with my, I mean, your dog?”
I took hold of her hand. “How about we worry about that when we get there?”
She bit her lip for a second. “I’m not good at that, but you know what? You’re right.” She stopped and pointed at me. “Then you better turn off some of that charm, so I don’t fall head over heels for you, because if you leave in October, I’m going to be really mad. No broken heart, right?”
We reached the tiny park, and Rocky, always a creature of habit, trotted right over to the squirrel tree. We stopped under its shade. I wrapped my arm around her back and pulled her closer. “I can’t promise anything, Layla. All I know is I want to be with you, and I haven’t said that to anyone … ever.”
She reached up and touched my face. I pressed my cheek against her hand.
“You know, I didn’t eat salsa at all today,” she said.
“That is the best invitation for a kiss I’ve ever heard.” I put my hands on her face and lowered my mouth to hers. The kiss would have gone on longer if there’d been a squirrel in the tree to hold Rocky's attention, but there wasn’t, and as I held Layla, she was suddenly yanked away by my dog.
“That almost felt personal,” I joked as we gave up on continuing the kiss to follow Rocky. “I think he did it on purpose.”
“I’m blaming it on the squirrel. He should have been in the tree,” she said.
We reached the end of the road and hung out there for a bit while Rocky sniffed anything he might have missed yesterday. “If I do show up tonight,” Layla started, “we’ll have to play it cool and just act like neighbors. I’ll tell Emily soon, but I need to find the right place and time. I hope you understand.”
“I do but it’s going to be hard putting on the neighborly expression when I’ve got this on my mind.” I wrapped my arm around her back and pulled her closer. This time Rocky gave us a respectable amount of time for a decent kiss—until a squirrel dashed across the road.
“Oh!” Layla gasped against my mouth. “He’s loose,” she said frantically.
Rocky had returned to his squirrel tree. He was occupied, so I took advantage and kissed her once more. “This time, the squirrel was the good guy,” I muttered and then kissed her once more for good measure.